One of the more usual — you might sa=
y bizarre — things we have found in Papua New Guinea are the Flying Fox=
es. …
These are large bats (macrobats) and if you'r=
e really interested, you can read about them in the Wikipedia articl=
e.
On the other hand, here are a few pictures. Numerous Flying=
Foxes hang from the same tree.
If that didn=
9;t convince you, it's clear they are bats when you see them in flig=
ht.
And, seeing a sky full of =
them is downright spooky.
While they seem to prefer to sleep=
during the day, they are restless sleepers. A colony of them in one la=
rge tree makes a continuous and unworldly sound. And we are told they c=
an be flushed in broad daylight by sudden sounds, such as several people=
shouting and clapping hands under the tree. Why anyone would want to d=
o that, I don't know.
They begin to be active in the late a=
fternoon, 4 or 5 p.m. depending on whether sunny or overcast. By twilig=
ht, the skies are just filled with them flying everywhere. We have hear=
d that no aircraft attempt to land at the airport between 6-8 p.m. daily=
, because the large number of Flying Foxes cause airplane strikes. I do=
n't know if that's completely true but it sure is plausible.
Here are three audio clips of the Flying Foxes:
Audio file 1
Audio file 2
Audio file 3
(It is possible y=
ou will receive a security warning if you try to open these files. If y=
ou believe me, they are safe to download. I didn't put any viruses =
or play any funny games here.)
If your web browser will display=
it, here is a short video clip of the Flying Foxes:
Video file
(if not, perhaps you should upgrade your browser=
to the latest version)